Daily GK Update- 4th Jan, 2022

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Haryana CM launched ‘Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam’ Web-portal: The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar has launched the ‘Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam portal’ and announced to set up the Atal Park & Smriti Kendra in Gurugram, Haryana. The CM also honoured 78 officers and employees for delivering the best services in various fields. He also launched a magazine ‘Vyavastha Parivartan Se Susashan’ and the 2022 official calendar.

About the portal: Now all the problems of the public are being solved easily through CM Window. So far, more than 8.5 lakh issues have been resolved. The government has abolished the practice of remand in the cases of the Revenue Department. Only a maximum of two appeals can be made in this. Apart from this, a run through the system has been implemented to accelerate the file work. The government has abolished the contractual practice in the recruitments made in the departments.

Note: Haryana Capital: Chandigarh; Haryana Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya.

 

2. Karnataka govt partnered with NPCI & SBI to implement ‘e-RUPI’: Karnataka government has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) & State Bank of India (SBI) to enable and implement the ‘e-RUPI’ payment solution to students under its scholarship programme. For redeeming e-RUPI, the identified institutes will scan the QR code or SMS string displayed by the students using an application. The e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless payment solution provided by NPCI and It will be used to ensure leak-proof delivery transactions.

Benefits the e-RUPI: Digital payment platform e-RUPI will be used to ensure “leak-proof” payment of education fees for students eligible under the scholarship programmes of the Karnataka government. As a part of this process, the Karnataka government will get e-vouchers delivered to the mobiles of eligible students. The voucher code can be received on a feature phone as well. The students will be able to redeem e-RUPI at the identified colleges or institutes for the intended purpose of fees payment.

Note: Chief Minister of Karnataka: Basavaraj S Bommai; Karnataka Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot; Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru.

 

3. Diplomat Vikram Misri named as Deputy National Security Advisor: Diplomat Vikram Misri has been appointed as deputy national security adviser in the national security council secretariat. The appointment of Misri, a 1989-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, came after he served as the Indian ambassador to China for nearly three years. He served in various capacities at the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as well as in the Prime Minister’s Office. Misri will report to national security adviser Ajit Doval. At present, Rajinder Khanna, Pankaj Saran and Dattatray Padsalgikar are serving as deputy NSAs.

Misri has also served in various Indian Missions in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The government has already appointed Pradeep Kumar Rawat as India’s new envoy to China.

 

4. CP Goyal appointed Director-General of Forests & Special Secretary: Indian Forest Service officer, Chandra Prakash Goyal has been appointed as the Director-General of Forests & Special Secretary (DGF&SS), Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change. Goyal, a 1986 batch IFS officer was previously the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest under Uttar Pradesh Department of Forest. The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet approved the appointment of the IFoS officer. He had returned to UP after being on central deputation as Joint Secretary in the Indian Department of Biotechnology.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Egypt became fourth new member of New Development Bank: Egypt added as the fourth new member of BRICS New Development Bank. Bangladesh, UAE, and Uruguay joined BRICS New Development Bank in September 2021. Membership expansion enables New Development Bank to position itself as a premier development institution for emerging economies. BRICS New Development Bank is a multilateral bank that was established by Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa to finance sustainable development and infrastructure projects.

The new list of New Development Bank member countries:

S.No	Member Countries
1	Brazil
2	Russia
3	India
4	China
5	South Africa
6	Bangladesh
7	United Arab Emirates
8	Egypt
9	Uruguay

 

Note: New Development Bank Headquarter: Shanghai, China; New Development Bank President: Marcos Prado Troyjo; New Development Bank Founder: BRICS; New Development Bank Founded: 15 July 2014.

 

2. World Braille Day: 4th January: World Braille Day is observed globally on 4th January since 2019. The day aims to recognize the right of access to braille by blind people and raise awareness of the importance of braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people. The day is marked remembering the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille – for people with visual disabilities. Louis Braille was born on 4th January 1809 in the town of Coupvray in northern France.

Braille: Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number, and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols. Braille (named after its inventor in 19th century France, Louis Braille) is used by blind and partially sighted people to read the same books and periodicals as those printed in a visual font.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Jasprit Bumrah Achieves Milestone of Picking 100 Test Wickets: Jasprit Bumrah has achieved the milestone of picking 100 wickets away from home in 22 Test matches. Van der Dussen became Bumrah’s 100th Test victim in overseas conditions. The 28-year-old now has 105 wickets, out of which 101 have come away from home. Bumrah, who made his Test debut in South Africa in 2018, has played 25 Tests, 23 of which have come on the road.

Fewest wickets in Test career while reaching 100 away Test wickets:

Jasprit Bumrah (India): 104

Mohammad Amir (Pakistan): 118

Michael Holding (West Indies): 136

Zaheer Khan (India): 137

Mohammed Shami (India): 140

Andy Roberts (West Indies): 140

 

2. Mohammed Shami becomes 11th Indian bowler to take 200 wickets in Test cricket: Mohammed Shami became just the 11th Indian bowler to claim 200 wickets in Test cricket in just 55 test matches. During this process, he became the only 5th Indian pacer to bag 200 wickets in the purest format of the game. Also, Shami is the third fastest Indian pacer to reach this milestone as Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath bagged 200 Test wickets in 50 and 54 Tests respectively.

Here is the list of India’s Leading Wicket-takers in Test Cricket:

Anil Kumble: 619 Wickets

Kapil Dev: 434 Wickets

Ravichandran Ashwin: 427 Wickets

Harbhajan Singh: 417 Wickets

Zaheer Khan: 311 Wickets

Ishant Sharma: 311 Wickets

BS Bedi: 266 Wickets

BS Chandrasekhar: 242 Wickets

Javagal Srinath: 236 Wickets

Ravindra Jadeja: 232 Wickets

Mohammed Shami: 200 Wickets

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI’s latest report on ‘Trend and Progress of Banking in India’: India’s central bank, RBI has released the latest iteration of its annual report on the financial performance of the country. In its report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) details that, despite the devastation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in India, the financial performance of banks has improved, citing a fall in the gross non-performing asset ratio for scheduled commercial banks (SCBs). The report, titled ‘Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India,’ also showed how a rise in profitability of SCBs in 2020-21 was driven less by an increase in income but more via reductions in expenditure. Key Highlights:

(1) The gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) ratio of SCBs fell from 8.2 per cent at the end of March 2020 to 7.3 per cent in March 2021. This decreased further to 6.9 per cent at the end of September 2021

(2) Capital to risk-weighted assets ratios(CRAR) – a vital measure of a bank’s stability – of SCBs improved from 14.8 per cent at the end of March 2020 to 16.3 per cent at the end of March 2021

(3) Banks have been plagued with an increase in the incidences of fraud in the current fiscal.

(4) The report notes that the number of frauds between April and September 2021 rose in comparison to the corresponding period last year.

 

2. IndusInd Bank launched ‘green fixed deposits’: IndusInd Bank has announced the launch of ‘green fixed deposits’, whereby the deposit proceeds will be used to finance projects and firms supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A green deposit is a fixed-term deposit for investors looking to invest their surplus cash reserves in environmentally friendly projects. These deposits will be offered to both retail & corporate customers.

About the ‘green fixed deposits’:

(1) The Bank will use the proceeds from these deposits to finance a wide array of sectors falling under the SDG category including, energy efficiency, renewable energy, green transport, sustainable food, agriculture, forestry, waste management and greenhouse gas reduction.

(2) The interest on the Green deposit remains attractive with an additional benefit of 50 basis points for senior citizens. In all ways, it is similar to a regular bank deposit but in addition, depositors will be issued a ‘Green’ certificate as well as an ‘Assurance’ certificate confirming the end-use of deposit proceeds at the end of the financial year.”

(3) The launch of ‘Green’ deposits’ is part of IndusInd Bank’s larger commitment of creating value for all its stakeholders, and remaining focused at driving the sustainable economic growth of the country.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. KVASU bags national award for breed conservation: The All India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) on poultry breeding, Mannuthy, under the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University (KVASU), bagged the national breed conservation award for 2021. The centre received the prestigious award from ICAR – The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) for the conservation and research activities on the Tellicherry breed, the only registered native chicken breed from the State. The centre started conservation of the Tellicherry breed in 2014. Through scientific selection and management, the breed began laying eggs as early as in five months and the annual egg production increased to 160-170 eggs.

About the awards: The award carries a citation and a purse of Rs 10,000. The award was established by ICAR – NBAGR for their contribution towards the conservation and improvement of registered Indian breeds of domestic livestock and poultry.

 

2. Sahitya Akademi Award 2021 Announced: Sahitya Akademi announced its prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards, Yuva Puraskar and Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2021 in various languages. According to the board, an engraved copper plate, shawl and an amount of Rs 1 lakh will be given to the main Sahitya Akademi prize winner and an engraved copper plate and an amount of Rs 50,000 each will be given to the Yuva Puraskar and Bal Sahitya Puraskar.

Sahitya Akademi Award 2021: The Sahitya Akademi Award 2021 was given in 20 Indian languages, the winner of Gujarati, Maithili, Manipuri, and Urdu languages will be announced at a later date. Seven books of poetry, two novels, five books of short stories, two plays, one book each of biography, autobiography, criticism, and epic poetry have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2021. Author, Namita Gokhale was awarded for her novel Things to Leave Behind

Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2021: The Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2021 were awarded for 22 Indian languages and the award in Tamil will be declared later, there was no award given in Rajasthani language this year. Author Megha Majumdar won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2021 for her debut book ‘A Burning’, published in 2020.

Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2021: The Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2021 was given in 22 Indian languages, no Bal Sahitya Puraskar was given in Gujarati and Punjabi languages this year. Anita Vachharajani has been named as the recipient of the Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2021 for the biography “Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a Paintbrush”. Hindi writer Devendra Mewari won the award for his play titled “Natak Natak me Vigyan”.